- The English Cat
-
Hans Werner Henze 
Operas- Boulevard Solitude (1952)
- König Hirsch (1956)
- Der Prinz von Homburg (1960)
- Elegy for Young Lovers (1961)
- Der junge Lord (1965)
- The Bassarids (1966)
- Der langwierige Weg in die Wohnung
der Natascha Ungeheuer (1971) - We Come to the River (1976)
- The English Cat (1983)
- Das verratene Meer (1990)
- Venus und Adonis (1997)
- L'Upupa und der Triumph
der Sohnesliebe (2003) - Phaedra (2007)
- Gisela! (2010)
The English Cat (in German, Die englische Katze) is an opera in two acts by Hans Werner Henze to an English libretto by Edward Bond, based on Les peines de coeur d'une chatte anglaise (The heartbreak of an English cat) by Honoré de Balzac. The opera was first performed in a German translation by the Stuttgart Opera at the Schwetzingen Festival on 2 June 1983. The French premiere was at the Opéra-Comique, Paris in 1984. The first performance using the original English text was at Santa Fe on 13 July 1985.[1][2] The UK premiere was at the Leith Theatre, Edinburgh, on 19 August 1987.[3] A revised version was performed at Montepulciano in 1990 and this was given in London in 1991.
Contents
Roles
Role Voice type Premiere Cast, 2 June 1983[4]
(Conductor: Dennis Russell Davies)Lord Puff tenor Martin Finke Minette, Lord Puff's wife soprano Inga Nielsen Tom, Minette's lover baritone Wolfgang Schöne Arnold bass Roland Bracht Babette, Minette's sister mezzo-soprano Elisabeth Glauser Louise soprano Regina Marheinike Miss Crisp soprano Melinda Liebermann Lady Toodle mezzo-soprano Ursula Sutter Peter tenor Helmut Holzapfel Plunkett bass Alfred Baumann Jones baritone Karl-Friedrich Dürr Synopsis
The opera is set in London in the 1890s.
A group of bourgeois cats has formed the Royal Society for the Protection of Rats. Avowed pacifists as well, the society has been raising a young orphan mouse, Louise. There is a love triangle between Lord Puff, his wife Minette, and Tom.
Instrumentation
- Woodwind: 2 flutes, (also alto flute and piccolo), 2 oboes (also English horn, 2nd doubling on Heckelphone), 2 clarinets (1st doubling on E flat clarinet, 2nd on bass clarinet and contrabass clarinet), 2 bassoons (2nd doubling on double bassoon)
- Brass: 2 horns, 1 trumpet, 1 trombone
- Percussion (3 players): 2 glass bars, 9 Chinese gongs, suspended cymbals, African wood drum, 8 log drums, tumba, maracas, claves, güiro, 2 sistrums, wood block, cabaça, 5 temple blocks, switches, American slat clacks, bass metallophone (or bass xylophone), 9 finger cymbals, slide whistle, 14 small bells
- harp, piano (also 4 hands), celesta, small organ, zither, strings (6.4.3.3.1)
Recording
- Wergo WER 62042: Richard Berkeley-Steele (Lord Puff), Mark Coles (Arnold), Louisa Kennedy (Minett), Gunvor Nilsson (Babette/Der Mond), Ian Platt (Tom); Parnassus Orchestra London; Markus Stenz, conductor
References
- ^ John Rockwell, "In Santa Fe, Henze's 'English Cat'". New York Times, 29 July 1985.
- ^ Michael Walsh (1985 (note; on-line article is erroneously dated 18 April 2005)). "When the Style Is No Style". Time. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1050500-2,00.html. Retrieved 2007-08-14.
- ^ Dean, Winton, "Reports: Edinburgh" (November 1987). The Musical Times, 128 (1737): 642-643.
- ^ amadeusonline.net
Sources
- The English Cat by Andrew Clements, in 'The New Grove Dictionary of Opera', ed. Stanley Sadie (London, 1992) ISBN 0-333-73432-7
External links
- The English Cat on the Schott Music website (English/German)
- Wergo English language page on CD set of The English Cat
Categories:- Operas
- English-language operas
- Operas by Hans Werner Henze
- 1983 operas
- Operas set in London
- Operas set in England
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